$380K+ upgrades to target ‘notorious’ Warwick black spot
Road safety advocates say the new roundabout couldn’t have come soon enough. SEE PLANS HERE:
Warwick
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An intersection labelled one of Warwick’s most dangerous by road safety advocates and government officials is set to receive a huge upgrade.
The junction at Churchill Dr and Park Rd will be overhauled under the joint Building our Future (Black Spot) Program between Southern Downs Regional Council and the Federal Government.
Stage 1 of construction is expected to begin on February 15 and will focus on replacing the existing water main, with the new roundabout to be built in the second stage.
The total project cost is $388,000, with $250,000 sourced externally and the remaining $138,000 from the council budget.
Southern Downs councillor Andrew Gale said the upgrades were a long time coming after years of accidents and near-misses at the intersection.
“It’s easy to fail to give way there. I don’t know what the numbers are, but I’ve certainly seen incidents occur there and we’ve received feedback regularly,” Cr Gale said.
“I can speak as a driving instructor as well, where it’s one of those intersections we routinely take people through to see how complex driving can be.
“A roundabout isn’t going to eliminate accidents 100 per cent, but it’s certainly going to be better than it is now.”
An SDRC spokeswoman said the first stage of works on the ‘notorious black spot’ should take about four weeks, but was unable to confirm when the roundabout would be completed.
“While the speed and stop/go restricted speed limits will cause minor delays on affected sections of Churchill Dr and Park Rd, staff would endeavour to minimise disruptions to road users,” they said.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for working with us while we replace the water main and improve the road for the safety of all road users.”
Roadworks will operate 6.30am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.
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